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Melting (smelting) gold

I was talking to a friend who has experience dredging gold (he still has two
claims in California), and he mentioned that if you want to smelt your raw gold
you need a federal license. I vaguely remember reading about this in the past,
but can't turn up any current references on the topic. So, what is the deal,
can you melt your nuggets to consolidate them or do you need a license? If so,
what is involved getting one?

"DT" wrote in message
news:KYidnfolw4Q7KwvanZ2dnUVZ_orinZ2d@wideopenwest .com...
I was talking to a friend who has experience dredging gold (he still has
two
claims in California), and he mentioned that if you want to smelt your raw
gold
you need a federal license. I vaguely remember reading about this in the
past,
but can't turn up any current references on the topic. So, what is the
deal,
can you melt your nuggets to consolidate them or do you need a license? If
so,
what is involved getting one?

--
Dennis

Effective Jan 1, 1975, that is no longer true. Prior to that date, it was
illegal to melt or otherwise process gold without a federal license under
penalty of $10,000 fine and 10 years in prison, as I recall. There are
currently no regulations pertaining to the ownership or processing of gold.

What reason does this person have for melting his gold? It does little
in the way of purifying it, and may be destroying gold found in the natural
state that has value beyond refined gold. Specimens are almost always in
demand, assuming they are of reasonable size. Fine bits tend to be
worthless beyond the value of the gold and other contained values.

Gold it typically alloyed with silver, and occasionally copper, along with
other elements, including arsenic. In order to convert it to useable
metal, it should be properly refined. While that's not beyond the
capability of the home type refiner, it does require a little knowledge
prior to getting started.

So, what is the deal, can you melt your nuggets to consolidate them or do
you need a license?

Effective Jan 1, 1975, that is no longer true. Prior to that date, it was
illegal to melt or otherwise process gold without a federal license under
penalty of $10,000 fine and 10 years in prison, as I recall. There are
currently no regulations pertaining to the ownership or processing of gold.

What reason does this person have for melting his gold?

It was just something that came up in conversation, all his gold is natural
nuggets and flakes.

"DT" wrote in message
news:I6OdnWZ1TqXh3AranZ2dnUVZ_rPinZ2d@wideopenwest .com...
So, what is the deal, can you melt your nuggets to consolidate them or
do
you need a license?

Effective Jan 1, 1975, that is no longer true. Prior to that date, it
was
illegal to melt or otherwise process gold without a federal license under
penalty of $10,000 fine and 10 years in prison, as I recall. There are
currently no regulations pertaining to the ownership or processing of
gold.

What reason does this person have for melting his gold?

It was just something that came up in conversation, all his gold is
natural
nuggets and flakes.

--
Dennis

Sadly, when you melt gold found in nature, especially if it runs low in gold
(less than 90%), melting it usually results in some pretty ugly material.
Pure gold has a wonderful color and luster, which is readily lost when
alloyed, When the alloys are dirty, such as are typically found in nature,
it's not unusual for the gold to turn out frosted and dull in appearance.
The nuggets have been abraded and mauled, plus aged (for coloration) such
that they tend to be far more attractive. I'd recommend you friend either
enjoy what he has the way it is, or learn refining techniques and purify the
metal before casting a common bar.